Rising Sea
This story is the continuation of the Aldmeris: Rising Sea RP that ended up dying in 2016. It is set in the ancient Elven continent of Aldmeris. Cultist Hunt The skeletons grabbed onto Lady Celemaira, holding her in place. She froze them with her magic, but as soon as she did others emerged from the white aura. Ehlin is much more powerful than I thought...this is indeed troublesome. Ehlin crossed into the flaming circle as Abalai fought against his skeletons. "Bastards." He muttered as he cut down another of the skeletons. Again, another just took his place. "How can a mere wizard be this powerful?" He asked. "I am no mere wizard." Ehlin said approaching the pyromancer. "I am the grandson of Haegala, Queen of the Underworld." He rushed forward and grabbed Abalai. Abalai felt his life force being sucked out as Ehlin's death magic drained his health. "Abalai!" Cele yelled. She cast a Blizzard around herself, freezing the skeletons and then freed herself from their icy grasp. She rushed to aid her colleague. But she was too late. Abalai fell to his knees as Ehlin drained his health with his Death Magic, Black Magic that Syrabane himself forbade its study in Horstagea. "Why, why are you doing this?" Abalai asked, his tongue that grown heavy. It was hard to talk, hard to breath. "Because, it is the duty of the members of Twyll Bornaga to revive our ancestor. To bring her back into Nirn." Ehlin replied. He pulled his hand back as he sucked out the rest of Abalai's health. The pyromancer collapsed on the ground, dead. "Abalai!" Celemaira yelled once more. She clenched her fists. "He was your colleague. How could you?!" Ehlin laughed. "I left Horstagea. It no longer served a purpose to me. I learned all I could there in order to best serve my family. Now I will lead the Cult of Haegala to finally accomplish its goal." Skeletons surrounded Lady Cele once more. She was outnumbered, she knew that she was going to die. "Capture her." Ehlin ordered his undead minions. Capture? She was surprised. "Why are you going to spare me?!" She asked. "Because. You will serve as good bait for the fish that I am trying to catch." The White-haired elf said. "Who are you after?" She asked. "The Blood of Auri-El." He told her and grinned. Search for the Artifact Atron's Trail The Frensca escort road up to the outpost in the middle of the frozen mountains of Mafreton. At their helm, the Vendis Tur Gerelle. The stone structure was built on the side of the path that led through the mountains to the east. Snow covered a part of the doors and a thin lair of the white substance covered the pointed tower roof as well as its walls. "Search around." Gerelle ordered. They were looking for any signs of her nephew, Atron. He had gone into the mountains of Mafreton searching for the artifact that the Cult of Orgnum needed to enact their plans. After a couple minutes, one of the cultists called to the Vendis Tur. "Milady! I've found one!" Gerelle headed to the cultist's location and found him with an injured cultist, one of Atron's men. "What happened?" She demanded. "Our party ran into a Golem. Lord Atron, he attacked it, it attacked back. I was injured in the fight. Another was killed." The cultist reported. "What of Atron?" She asked. The cultist winced as he moved around a bit. "Atron continued on ahead with the others. We had found a lead to the location of the artifact...the Sanctum of Auri-El, deep in the mountains." "The Sanctum? I thought it only a rumor." Gerelle stated. "We encountered a village to the south of here that supposedly traveled to the Sanctum. We followed the clue." The cultist said. "Very well, I thank you for your service." Gerelle said and used Humidity Absobtion to get enough water from the air in order to use Wave Blast, killing the injured cultist. She couldn't let him live and he was only going to slow them down. The other cultists didn't question her. "Come, let's get going to this village to the south of here." Gerelle ordered. Athbale Village The Cult of Orgnum reached the village that the injured cultist had mentioned. It was built high in the snowy mountains, right on the side of the stone. Mafreton had few settlements, but most were built along the coast, with some in the valleys in between the mountains. Never had she seen a village built on the side of one. As they approached, Gerelle read the sign at the edge of the village. "Athbale." She said. High Stone in Aldmeris. She ordered. "Search around. Interrogate the citizens. Do what you must in order to find out where Sanctum of Auri-El is located." "Yes, my lady." The cultists said in unison and headed off into Athbale in a hurry, so as not to displease the Vendis Tur. The cultists spent the next few hours threatening, harassing and interrogating the populace. Those elves were isolationists, they weren't used to visitors, and thus they were very protective of each other. They resisted, but the cultists were stronger than them. They used might and magic to beat the villagers that tried to fight back, with no hesitation when killing one of them. Especially when it came to Gerelle. "Tell me where the Sanctum is." She demanded of an old Aldmer that lived near the north of the village. Another of the tortured villagers had commented that the old man was the wisest and oldest member of the village and she figured that it meant he of all people would know the big secret. "To the likes of you? Never." He said defiantly. "Even if I did know of this Sanctum, I am not the type of person to reveal something so important to outsiders that clearly mean harm." "I see." She said and placed her hand on the head of a young girl. She was one of his neighbors that they had dragged to his house to use as motivation. The Vendis Tur used Drain Water on her, draining the water from the girl and slowly killing her from dehydration. When all the water was drained from her body she dropped dead, a husk. "We have plenty of villagers to pick from, old man. I will kill all of Athbale if I have to." The old man had looked away, not wanting to see the woman being killed. Though now a cultist came at him and grabbed his head, forcing him to watch as Gerelle walked over to the next scared villager. "You will watch this time. You will see their agony and hear their screams." Gerelle stated. "In the end you will be broken and we will have the information we want." "Please, I don't want to die." Said the young man that Gerelle approached. "Vahtauri, please." The man begged. He had been the one to break under torture and mention the old man that lived at the edge of the village. "You know I can't." He said, forced to look on the crying young man. "These people mean nothing but harm." "They...they will kill us all. Is the Sanctum really worth all our deaths?" The young man asked. "Listen to him, Vahtauri." Gerelle insisted. The old man gritted his teeth. I cannot divulge such information to them....I...I just can't. I'm sorry. He thought as he tried to shut his eyes, but the cultist behind him forced them open. This time Gerelle placed her hand in the man's mouth and all the water that she had absorbed from the woman she used to drown the man, forcing the water into his throat with her Wave Blast power. The young man died in agony as he struggled to breath but only found endless water entering his lungs. When he dropped dead moments later, Gerelle walked to her next victim. "Maybe this one will be convincing enough." It took some hostages being killed before the old man finally broke. "Enough, please...please don't kill anyone else." Gerelle smiled. "Of course, just tell me where the Sanctum of Auri-El is located." She headed over to him and placed her hand on his head. Vahtauri hesitated for a few moments before saying. "I..I don't know the exact location." "What?!" Gerelle snapped. She was ready to kill him when he interrupted her. "However, I guard the path to the Sanctum. It is my duty to the Cult of Auri-El." Vahtauri revealed. Gerelle dispersed the water spell that she was about to kill him with. "Very well, tell me of this path." "It is called the Pilgrim's Path. A secret way through the highest peaks of the Mafreton Mountains that is unknown to all but a few, those loyal to the Cult of Auri-El." Vahtauri said. "I only allow dedicated pilgrims to learn of it." "Are there a lot of these pilgrims?" She asked, out of curiosity. "Few, but I did have one come by not long ago." The old man revealed. Atron...was he able to fool the old man? Gerelle wondered. "Did you tell him the location of the path?" "It was a woman." Vahtauri corrected her. "But yes." Woman? It must have been Suni, she is indeed more competent than her cousin Atron. A pity that she is so far down the line of succession, as the daughter of my youngest brother. ''Gerelle thought. She then looked back at the old man. "Tell me the location of the path." "Alright, just please promise that you will spare the remainder of the village." He asked. Gerelle sighed. "Very well. I swear upon Orgnum that '''I' will not harm them." The old man looked pleased and divulged the location. One of the cultists provided him with a map and he pointed out the location. "Thank you for your cooperation." Gerelle said as she took the map. "Men, we move out to the Pilgrim's Path." "Yes, milady." They said in unison. "But first, kill the rest of the villagers. We wouldn't want the Vendis Tur of Gilbek to learn of our presence here." She ordered. "But..but you swore." Vahtauri argued. "I did, but my men didn't." She smiled sinisterly. "Now quickly, kill them." The cultists slaughtered the rest of the villagers and they departed from Athbale, heading west to the path. Pilgrim's Path The group of cultists reached the Pilgrim's Path high up in the mountains and began to traverse it. It was during their passage that they discovered the remains of Atron's party. They examined the location, a cave on the side of the mountain about half-way to through the path. Inside a dead Atron and two other cultists were found. One seemed to have died of the cold, though the others were murdered. As Gerelle looked over the corpses she commented. "Suni isn't here." "Milady, whatever killed them must have been very strong." A cultist pointed out as he knelt to look at the wounds on the bodies. "Search the cave." Gerelle ordered. The cultists obeyed but after searching it found nothing of note save for some weird ice inside the cave. It was quite the oddity. Due to the cave being empty, the cultists decided to hold up there for the night to rest. They buried the three bodies further in the cave and waited for the sun to rise and maybe the cold winds to let up. They waited for hours until the blizzard finally passed, though as the Orgnum Cultists began to leave they felt the ground shake. "What in Semnirn?!" One of the cultists called out before the icy wall behind him broke apart and a large icy fist knocked him down. Other sections of the walls broke apart and the cultists found themselves face to face with three Ice Golems. "It appears that these are what killed Atron and the others." Gerelle figured. "That fool must have picked a fight with the Golems and lost, now that they have reawakened they feel threatned by us." "Milady, what are your orders?" Another cultist asked. "Kill them." She said and summoned her Snake Familiar. The large serpent circled around her and when a Golem tried to hit her it lunged at the creature and wrapped around its arm, holding it with such force that it began to crack the ice. The other cultists drew their weapons and cast their spells at the other two Golems. Gerelle used her magic to absorb the humidity from her enviroment and when she had enough she cast Wave Blast, sending the water against the Golem. The blast knocked the creature into the wall and cracked its hard icy chest. Meanwhile, the sea snake familiar constricted the Golem's arm enough to break it apart. The creature tried to fight back, pushing itself off the wall and tried to use its remaining arm to hit the Vendis Tur. However, Gerelle used Waterflesh, turning her upper body into a water-like material that absorbed the impact without causing her any damage. She countered by grabbing a hold of the Golem's arm and draining the frozen water from its arm, causing it to break appart. Now defenseless, the Golem tried to flee, but th Sea Snake grabbed a hold of its leg and kept it in place. Gerelle used the water she drained from the Golem in another Wave Blast, this time shattering the creature's frozen shell and revealing the true body of the Golem, the Calis. The glowing pixie attempted to flee, but to no avail. The Sea Snake lunged at it and bit the creature. Gerelle captured the creature. "This Calis will be useful, I've been meaning to make some enchantments." Calis were made of magicka and as such they were used in Aldmeris to make enchantments on items. The High Lady looked around, where her subordinates were teaming up to defeat the other Golems. "Capture the Calis, I would like all three of them alive for my research in enchantments." It didn't take long because they defeated the Golems and captured their true bodies, though they suffered two casualties in the fight. They locked the Calis up in jars and then continued on their way through the Pilgrim's Path. Sanctum of Auri-El Gerelle arrived at the end of the long path through the mountains after a couple days. They had gone far to the west and had lost another cultist along the way, but they finally made it. Ahead she could see the white-gold Sanctum of Auri-El in all its glory. It was built on the peak of a mountain next to the one that they were currently on. A white stone bridge connected the mountainside of the end of the Pilgrim's Path to the peak of the Sanctum. At the start of the bridge was a large arch with Aedric Inscriptions in gold on white stone. "Finally." One of the cultists muttered. There near the Sanctum there was no heavy wind, no snow, so the cultists finally had a break from the blizzards that they encountered during they way up the path. Gerelle brushed off the snow from her robes and walked towards the bridge. "We don't know who inhabits this sanctum, so be on guard. Remember, our goal is to find and take the artifact. No matter who or how many people we must kill in order to obtain it. Without the artifact my father's goal cannot be achieved." The cultists walked through the bridge and reached the sanctum grounds. A large white-gold stone door loomed over them, the entrance to the mystical sanctum. Gerelle noted that no one seemed to be around so she had her minions push the doors open. As soon as they entered, however, they saw that they were very mistaken. Four elves in white and black armor stood in their way. Their weapons at the ready, though not pointed at the people that just entered. A fifth elf walked up. She was a woman, quite beautiful, with the traits of a Laure Aldmer, unlike the others whom were Fanacas Aldmer. "I am the High Priestess of Auri-El, welcome pilgrims to his Sanctum." Gerelle thought that the woman looked familiar but couldn't quite remember from where. Just five elves here, but there may be more further inside. It might be wise to play the part of pilgrim for now until I can figure out their strength. Then we'll kill them and take the artifact. Gerelle bowed slightly, and her cultists followed her lead. "Thank you, High Priestess. We humbly accept your invitation." The Priestess nodded and the four guards backed off, taking up positions near the walls. She then turned around and began to walk down the large hall, gesturing for the cultists to follow. "You must be hungry and tired from your journey up the path. Auri-El's faithful will show you his great hospitality. If you'll follow me we have rooms for pilgrims to rest." They played along for now and were brought to a wing of rooms. Gerelle had her people split up and rest, herself included. The Priestess told them to come to the banquett hall once they were well rested to fill their stomachs. Gerelle and her people continued to act like innocent pilgrims to the Sanctum for the rest of the evening. Once the dinner was over, the Priestess said to her. "Come with me, I'd like to show you something." "Very well, lead the way." The Vendis Tur responded. Gerelle followed her out of the banquett hall and through the Sanctum. She had seem at least another dozen priests and a few other guards during the day but the hall that they walked seemed to be empty. It was a long hall with a high ceiling. Small windows dotted the tops of the walls and let in moonlight that made the gold etchings on the white-marble walls shine. At the end of the hall they came up on a set of large doors. Beside them two guards stood watch. When the guards saw the Priestess approach they pushed the doors open and let them through. The room was a large circular room with golden arches running along the walls. At the center was a distinguished pedestal and atop it small window let in a ray of moonlight that lit it up. Gerelle noticed what was on the pedestal right away. She filled with anticipation and could barely contain herself. The Star of Auri-El...the artifact that we've been searching for all this time. She was so excited that she didn't even notice the elf standing by the pedestal. The Priestess led Gerelle towards the Star and when they were only a foot away, she turned around and spoke to her. "I am well aware of who you are, Gerelle Frensca, and why you are here. You came to the Sanctum to steal our sacred artifact. The thing we devoted out lives to protect." Gerelle snapped out of her transe and looked at the Priestess with the eyes of a killer, ready to strike at her if need be. "What do you mean, priestess? I am only a humble pilgrim." "Aunt Gerelle." The elf to her right spoke. "I told her everything." Gerelle looked over and noticed the elf for the first time. "Suni. So you survived after all." The lady wasn't stupid, she realized right away that Suni had betrayed her to the cult of Auri-El. The young Aldmer looked conflicted. "I did, Aunt Gerelle. Thanks to Priestess Amaralda." That's when it clicked in the High Lady's head. She looked over at the Priestess. "Amaralda Dirennil, mother of the Aran. That's why your face looked so familiar." She said. "Everyone things that you're dead." "Clear not, as you can see. My purpose in Cularane was completed when I gave Adai-Ge two heirs to secure the line of succession of the Twyllar. I returned here to guard Auri-El's treasured artifact, as is his will." Amaralda stated. "You're nothing more than an obedient servant of Auri-El then. You breed with Aran Adai-Ge because of Auri-El's will as well?" Gerelle asked, trying to stall while she thought up of a quick way to end Amaralda's life before she could call on the guards outside the chamber. "Of course. I am his loyal servant." The Queen Mother replied. "As are you, to Orgnum. Your niece has told me of your mission to steal the Star of Auri-El. I cannot allow that. I ask that you turn away and leave this Sanctum without bloodshed." "I cannot do that." Gerelle said. "I will take that star and bring it to my father so our plan can be completed." "It seems that we're at an impass then." Amaralda said and sighed. Gerelle barely had time to react, summoning a Sea Snake in front of herself to block Amaralda's spell. The Priestess had cast a beam of deadly light at Gerelle. The spell cut through the summoned snake and caused it to turn to ash. Gerelle used her magic to absorb the water from the air. She was fortunate that the cold and air of Mafreton was so humid, it gave her near infinite amount of water to manipulate. She sent a Wave Blast at the guards that came charging at her from behind, then followed up with summoning a Water Atronach. A portal opened and from inside came a lumbering creature made of water. The lesser Daedra charged at the guards and crushed one of them with its watery fist, then it grabbed another and began to drown him in its fist. Amaralda had to change her focus and go after the Atronach, less it kill her guards. She shot out beams of light at the Daedra, tearing holes in its watery flesh, but they soon closed. While this was going on, Gerelle was absorbing as much water as she could with Humidity Absorbtion. Suni shot out a Wave Blast at Gerelle, stopping her casting. She knew what her aunt was trying to do and was going to stop her. "I cannot allow you to create a tsunami in here, Aunt Gerelle." Gerelle chuckled. "Just try to stop me, Suni." She matched her niece's Wave Blast and knocked her back against the artifact's podium. While Suni was down, she quickly closed the gap between them and grabbed the young girl. Suni tried to Wave Blast her aunt in close quarters, but Gerelle cast Waterflesh on herself, saving herself any damage. "It's over Suni." Gerelle stated, her eyes glowing as she placed a hand on her head. She used her Seal Magicka power, stopping the young Aldmer's flow of magicka so she could no longer cast spells. Suni dropped to the ground, the power having momentarily knocked her out. With her niece out of the picture, Gerelle resumed her Humidity Absorbtion spell. Amaralda managed to finally defeat the Water Atronach with her magic, just as a group of guard reinforcements entered the artifact chamber. She turned around and saw Gerelle standing over Suni. "It's over Gerelle Frensca, you're outnumbered." Gerelle laughed. "You are correct, Amaralda, but I will win nonetheless." She finished charging her spell with the water she absorbed from the air and created a huge tsunami inside the artifact chamber. The water spread rapidly and ferociously. It hit the guards and knocked them back, some slammed into the walls and were nearly killed from the force of the impact alone. The water level began to rise as the spell continued. Amaralda used her magic to create a ward of light that blocked the wave from taking her away, but her ward was faltering. Though she could see something in the water coming towards her. Gerelle summoned a Sea Snake with the last of her magicka and climbed atop of it. The snake swam atop the water and brought the high lady close to the artifact. She smirked and grabbed Auri-El's Star from its stand. She then looked over at Amaralda, just as a wave consumed her. Her snake led her out of the chamber and the flooded Sanctum, bringing her to the outside where the water was falling over the edge in an endless waterfall. In her hand the artifact that her father had desired, her quest completed. Tunneler Purge Second Broodmother After resting for a few hours, the Ardapelin packed up their underground camp and continued through the Raboth tunnels. General Aliarquen Baene ordered some scouts to go on ahead to find a route to the next broodmother. According to the Ardapelin's intel prior to the start of the Purge, three Rabothi Broodmothers existed. Their exact locations were unknown, since they tended to move around every couple months. Aliarquen thought as he marched through the underground passages. The only light illuminating the way for the hundreds of soldiers was a few magelights that were cast by members of Captain Andurin's Battlemages. "Something on your mind, General?" Selion asked. "Just thinking about our enemy. We killed one broodmother, but two yet remain somewhere in this massive underground labyrinth." The grandson of Trinimac replied. "At least now we've got a source of water." Selion looked on the bright side. Aliarquen nodded. "A silver lining, at least, but who knows how long we'll have to stay down here. By my calculations it's been two weeks since the start of the Purge, maybe more." "We all wish to see the sun again as soon as possible." Andurin commented, approaching the two men. Andurin's cousin the Vendis Tur of Ninecia, Mithridates Pontus, approached as well. "My scouts bring us good news, they've found the Broodmother's hobble." "Let's make haste then, the sun awaits us." Andurin muttered. He headed off, not wanting to spend too long with his cousin. He quite disliked Mithridates. The army moved through the network of tunnels to the place where the Ninecian scouts discovered the Broodmother. They kept close guard over the supplies, not wanting another situation like before to occur. Before long they began to encounter Tunnelers, lots of them. Aliarquen dispatched a creature by hacking him in two with his battleaxes. "It seems your scouts were right, this many Raboth can only mean a Broodmother nearby." Mithridates laughed, twirling his spear and then impailing one of the nasty little creatures. "The underground may not be pleasant, but killing these vermin sure is!" Selion used his magic to support Aliarquen as they made their way towards the Broodmother chamber. The Ardapelin had to cut past quite the large number of Raboth before they entered the large chamber, exiting at the lower part. They looked up at the broodmother, like the previous one she looked deformed and wrong, but the soldiers paid no mind to it. It was not their job to question the state of the Tunneler mothers and their children, only to kill them. Captain Andurin took the initiative, casting Shadow Grip on the Tunnelers around the broodmother to take them out. Half a dozen of the pests dropped dead in mere moments. The Ardapelin charged in, engaging the others. The broodmother's tentacles burst out from the ground, but Mithridates was ready. He lauched his spear at one of them, tearing a hole through the tentacle and pinning it to the rocky wall of the chamber. He then drew his Blue Glass Sword and jumped at another, cleaving it in two. Aliarquen charged in after Mithridates, wielding both his battleaxes and cutting down Raboth left and right. Selion followed the General, casting a Pillar spell that sent out rocky pillars from the ground under Aliarquen, which lauched the general up past the Tunnelers. "Go general! We'll clear out the vermin." He then used his Golemna power. Rocks flew in towards him and formed a rocky golem shell around the Aldmer. In this form he charged in at the Raboth. Aliarquen nodded and threw his weapons at the Broodmother, hacking away another tentacle. She was left open to attack and he used his Trinimac's Judgement. Dozens of aetherial swords appeared around the General and when he thrust his hands forward they flew at the mother, ripping numerous holes in her. The broodmother was left at near death, dozens of swords impailed on her flesh and her tentacles either cut down or pinned. With Trinimac's Judgement still active, Aliarquen summoned a large spear in his hand and threw it at the head of the beast, putting an end to her. Mysterious Sickness After the second broodmother was killed, the Ardapelin continued on their mission to kill the last broodmother. There were less tunnelers now, so they had few encounters as the days went by. Once again the Raboth tried to destroy their supplies but this time the soldiers were ready and managed to protect the caravans. Aliarquen was walked around the camp with Selion, the lieutenant had troubling news for him. They reached the medical tent, their destination. "Here we are, General." Selion said, pushing the tent flap open so he could enter. Aliarquen saw a dozen soldiers being examined by their healers. None of the soldiers looked to be seriously injured, but even with just the light of torches and magelights, the deformations on their bodies were clearly visible. Selion and him approached one of the soldiers. "These look similar." Aliarquen noted. The deformations reminded him of the state of the Raboth. Ever since they headed underground they noticed that the tunnelers were deformed. Selion nodded. "Looks nearly identical to the deformation of the vermin we've been fighting." The General nodded. This was concerning. "It may be that something underground is starting to affect us as it has affected the Raboth." He looked to the healers. "Keep me updated on the status of the sick and especially if there are more of them." They nodded. "Of course, Vendis Tur Baene." Aliarquen left the tent with Selion. "Keep those men and the healers isolated, I don't want this...sickness spreading to anyone else. Now we only need to find out what caused this..." "Yes sir." Selion said and headed off. He headed into his own tent after giving the other to some soldiers to guard the medical tent so the sick couldn't leave and no one headed inside. In his tent he took off his gauntlet and looked at the little lump that had appeared there a few hours ago. The Lieutenant then put his gauntlet back on and returned to his duties. Last Broodmother How long it had been no one could tell, they had lost their sense of time days, maybe weeks ago. All that mattered to them was that their long hunt in the tunnels was about to come to an end. They had found the last Broodmother and were heading right for her. Selion was feeling overly enthusiastic about this fight and when they reached the Broodmother's nest. Like before the Raboth came to the aid of their mother, but the young Aldmer led the Ardapelin vanguard and curshed them with his rock magic. Sending pillars from the walls at the vermin. Andurin's battlemages backed him up, shooting their destruction spells at the vermin protecting the mother. "Carve a path to the mother!" Aliarquen ordered. Mithridates eagerly dove into battle, swinging his spear at the vermin, cutting them appart as he ran for the mother. One of the tentacles came right at the General, but he swung both Battleaxes fiercely and diced the chunk of flesh in pieces. "I'll pin her down!" Selion yelled using a Pillar spell to send pillars of stone to bind the broodmother's tentacles. "Haha, good going sergeant. This kill is mine!" Mithridates announced and ran for the mother. She struggled against the stone and managed to break free from a few pillars, only to have Andurin bind her with his shadows. The Vendis Tur of Ninecia stopped in his tacks and wound up his spear arm, then threw the weapon right at the head of the broodmother, tearing a hole in her deformed skull. The spear then lodged itself into the stone walls of the nest. The last broodmother screeched in agony, calling her Raboth for one last attack as she felt her life fade away. Selion used his magic to open up the ceiling of the nest and make it fall on the mother, killing her for good. Aliarquen activated Trinimac's Judgement and dozens of aetherial swords appeared around him like a ward of blades. He used those blades to put an end to the tunnelers that tried to challenge them now, with Andurin acting as back up for those that he was unable to kill with his swords. Within a few more moments of clearing the cavern, the battle was over and the Purge ordered by the Aran finally completed. Surprise Attack The Ardapelin had begun their trip home, which was slow and nerve-wrecking. They had been unsure if weeks or months had passed while they were down there and they wanted nothing more than to get back home. Aliarquen was in his tent, the army had camped out in a cavern for a few hours so they could rest up and consume some food and water. He had been kept up to date on the condition of his men and it wasn't looking good. Whatever that sickness was it had spread to much of the lower ranks of the army. Though interestingly enough none of the higher ranked soldier were affected. The healers too had become affected but they learned that it wasn't because of touch or some airborn virus. They were still coming up with a theory on what had caused the sickness, but it wasn't fully discovered yet. Still the sickness didn't have any negative effect on the soldiers so the General ordered the isolation of the men to end, since there were so many sick that they couldn't keep them contained any longer. As he was tending to his axes, Aliarquen heard screaming among the camp. At once he left his tent with one of his axes in hand. Something was attacking their camp. He thought it was some Raboth at first, remnants of the purge that had come after them but he soon found himself to be wrong. He saw the soldiers fighting themselves. The sick, the deformed elves that had caught this strange illness, were attacking each other and the other Ardapelin. Whatever this illness was it had finally reached its final stage and caused all the sick to become high aggresive. One of the sick charge at him like a feral beast and he got a good look at them. They looked surprisingly like the Raboth, with numerous strange deformations. He hacked at the elf with his Battleaxe and cleaved his arm off, then ended him with a strike to the skull. Whatever this illness is, it infected those creatures as well...it's probably what made them attack the surface out of nowhere. The camp was thrown into chaos as the infighting engulfed everyone. Aliarquen tried to regroup some force and make a proper defense of the camp, but the skirmish was too hard to control. As he was fighting, he ran into Selion, whom looked injured. "Sir." Selion called out with a pained voice. Aliarquen helped him up. "Hang in there, we'll clear out these infected and I'll get you to a healer." Selion groaned, but it wasn't from any injury. "I...I'm trying to keep it together sir." The general didn't notice the deformations on Selion. He held the sergeant and used his magic to summon weapons to hold off the infected. This illness has spread further than I thought... The fighting seemed to go on for hours as the infected were being killed by the remaining soldiers. There were more sick than clean soldiers, but thankfully the sickness messed with the person's reasoning so their fighting styles were no better than the creature they had just purged. They didn't use weapons or magic, so cutting them down was much easier. When they had carved out a safe zone in the camp, Aliarquen put down Selion. "Rest, soldier. We are almost done." His axe stained with the blood of his fellow elves. "Sir..." Selion grunted, he struggled and shook. "Rest, that's an order." The general told him and turned his back to the sergeant to rejoin the fighting. That was when he was jumped. Selion attacked him, he had fully subcome to the illness and was now feral. "Selion!" Aliarquen yelled as the elf grabbed him from behind and tried to bite him. He tried to shake him off, but the sergant dug his nails into his neck. "Arghhh!" He didn't want to kill his subordinate, but it was too late for him. He summoned his swords behind him and sent them against Selion, stabbing the elf numerous times. Selion died and let go of the elf. Aliarquen fell to one knee and tried to catch his breath. "Damn it all!" Losing Selion was hard, he liked the lad and saw in him the potential for a good leader, the future of the Ardapelin. That was over now, he died because of this sickness. Aliarquen vowed to find the source of this madness and put an end to it. Too many good soldiers died because of this. Finding the Source Andurin and Mithridates weren't too happy with Aliarquen's decision of turning back, but he was able to convince them through a little argueing. Both of them had lost good friends during the sudden attack last night by the sick, so he was able to get them on his side by playing to their sense of duty to their comrades. "It's the water." They had realized. "The water is what infected the sick." "So this underground river is poisoned." Aliarquen muttered. "We need to follow it to its source. The wellspring will be where the toxin is located. If we remove that not only will we be avenging our comrades but we might put a momentary stop to the Raboth's aggressiveness. They were sick with the same illness as our men." Mithridates nodded. "Very well, general. We will do as you wish." They traveled deeper and deeper into the underground, always following the underground river. It took them days, weeks even - they didn't know the exact dates anymore - before they finally found it. The river led to a large underground lake and there they did find the toxins that they were looking for. "What...what in Oblivion are those?" Andurin asked. Glowing plants littered the water. "Those don't look natural." Aliarquen noted. "Look how they cover most of the surface." The Vendis Tur agreed. "Then we need to rip them out and close this lake off from the underground river." They had their soldiers labor against the glowing weeds, while they used their magic to diver the lake. As they worked, Andurin and his Battlemages studied the strange unnatural weed. When their work was almost done they realized. "This, this is from Bel Karn, the domain of Twyllesh Frensca." "Do you think Orgnum's kin were resposible for this?" Mithridates asked. "Why would they do this? What would be their motive for making the Raboth so aggressive?" Aliarquen asked. "Maybe we should ask them when we get back on the surface." Andurin suggested. The three agreed. If the Frensca were responsible then all this was their fault and they needed to answer for it. The Ardapelin finally began their trip to the surface, this time unopposed. Royal Visit Tea with the Arana "It's okay child, I don't bite." Sodahrin called to the young child clinging to her mother. Cyrele knelt down next to her daughter and encouraged her to approach the goddess. "Lady Sodahrin is my great-grandmother, Nilmis. She's not going to hurt you." She knew the suffering that Nilmis had to endure in court as a bastard child. The secret relationship she had in her youth with her cousin had caused grief not only to her, but also her daughter. Nilmis nodded and shyly approached the beautiful goddess, Mistress of Auri-El. Sodahrin reached out a hand and brushed it on the child's head, she examined her for a few moments before saying. "I can see it in you child. You'll grow up to be quite the beauty. Even with the taint of bastardry the Twyllesh and lesser Twylls will be fighting for your hand in marriage." The goddess turned to the child's mother. "You're still young child and our beauty is radiant and unquestioned, as expected of one with royal blood. When will you be marrying?" Cyrele blushed. "I...I couldn't possibly..." "Your father, I'm sure he's been seeking a marriage worthy of a cousin of the Twyllar. Has he not found a suitable bachelor yet?" The goddess interrupted her. The Arana replied for her cousin. "My uncle hasn't managed to broker a favorable match yet, grandmother. Cyrele has been one of my ladies in waiting, he hopes that I might be able to secure such a match." "I'm sure you could, darling." Sodahrin. "If not, then I sure can. No bachelor can resist my charms." She looked over to Cyrele. "I would be able to fetch you a husband within the fortnight." Cyrele curtsied nervously. "It would be most kind of you, milady...but I do not wish to be a burden to you." "Nonesense, I am the Goddess of Fertility, making matches is part of my duties." Sodahrin insisted. She turned to her granddaughter. "Anariel, I will help you in finding the perfect match for her." Cyrele looked uncomfortable. As someone that has already been...spoiled, she would never be able to get a favorable match. No high ranking nobleman would ever want someone that has already been used as a wife. She felt embarrassed and ashamed every time her father brought up the subject back home. He couldn't even marry her off to some of the middle-class nobility and he refused to try the lower nobles or gods forbid, lowborn, in an attempt to find her a willing match. Despite the Arana trying the same, it hadn't worked out either. She didn't even want to be married off. Even with the difficulties, she was happy living with her young daughter. The tea continued until the late hours came and the royal family's dinner was set up. Twyllar's Dinner The three women were escorted by servants to the great hall, where the Aran was already wait for them, sitting at one end of the table. Anariel took a seat at the opposite end of the massive banquet table, with the goddess, her cousin and her other ladies-in-waiting taking their seats at her end. At the Aran's end were some local nobility from the capital. Around the edges of the room, Ardapelin guards were standing watch, among them Ardis. Ritual of Sodahrin The Goddess Departs A Lady's Rescue Assault on Cularane Orgnum's Rule Ardis' Quest Saving the Aran Orgnum's Fate Category:Stories Category:Merethic Canon